


Link's secret

by Sterntaler



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Crying, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Men Crying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 07:39:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5618992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sterntaler/pseuds/Sterntaler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhett’s thoughts went back and forth. Something was going on with Link. Something wasn’t right and it’s been like that for quite a while. He furrowed his brows. It bothered him that Link wouldn’t talk to him and – most of all – it worried him.</p><p>Warning: Fluff but no actual Rhink.</p><p>(For warnings for individual chapters, see notes at the beginning of each chapter.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "What is this all about, Link?"

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This is TOTALLY NOT REAL. It is fake. I made it up. Nothing is meant to be implied about any actual real-life people.

„What’s up, buddy?“ Rhett asked his best friend. Link had just come back to their office from a toilet break.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“You look pale and kinda sick.”

“It’s nothing,” Link answered in a slightly raspy voice, “maybe I come down with a cold or something, don’t know. I don’t feel different from how I usually feel.”

“Maybe you should eat something. Stevie brought Donuts for everyone today. They’re really good. I already ate three.” Rhett tried.

“No thanks, man. I’m fine – really.” With that Link got back to work. He was quiet today, Rhett thought. Just like yesterday and the day before yesterday. 

Rhett’s thoughts went back and forth. Something was going on with Link. Something wasn’t right and it’s been like that for quite a while. He furrowed his brows. It bothered him that Link wouldn’t talk to him and – most of all – it worried him.

“Link?” he asked in a soft voice. Too soft, maybe. Link already looked suspicious. 

“Yeah?” came his answer. He sounded distant – even slightly annoyed. 

“I know you don’t want to talk about it but I know that something is wrong with you and I’m worried to be honest.” Rhett started.

“Bullshit” Link said in a low voice, nearly to himself. 

“See, that’s what I mean” Rhett began to explain. “You are more aggressive than usual… like… like a passive aggression that is with you all the time, brother. You’re not that silly anymore, you barely even laugh at all. And you look sick. Maybe you should get yourself checked through. What if you have anemia or something like that?”

“I’m just a little stressed, that’s everything. I didn’t sleep well.” That was all Link had to say. He ended the conversation by turning his eyes back to the computer screen. So Rhett let the topic drop and got back to his own work. 

 

– Two weeks later –

“We need to talk!” 

“Good morning to you too, Rhett” Link answered and waited for Rhett to climb into the car and buckle up before he continued their way to work.

“Seriously, Link”

“What is it now?”

“Christy called me.” Rhett declared.

“What? Why?” Link looked at Rhett for a second before turning his gaze back to the road in front of him. He was obviously angry and Rhett had not even started to explain.

“Do you have an affair?” Rhett asked, his eyes fixated on the road, avoiding to look at Link.

“Huh?”

“DO. YOU. HAVE. AN. AFFAIR, LINK?” Rhett spat out every single word.

“NO! I can’t believe that! What’s that crap all about, Rhett? What did Christy even tell you?” 

Rhett looked at Link, trying to read what was going on in his mind. He seemed angry but also honestly confused.

“Rhett, honestly. I don’t have an affair. With whom even?”

“I don’t know, man.” Rhett answered. “But Christy told me that you come home late every single day for at least five or six weeks now. Like really late, seven or eight p.m.”

Link didn’t say anything.

“She asked me if you really stay at work that long. I covered for you but she only needs to ask Jessie when I come home usually and then she’ll find out that I lied for you.”

Link swallowed audibly. 

“What is this all about, Link?” Rhett’s voice had lost all its anger. All that was left was concern.

As Link stayed silent, acting again like the whole conversation wasn’t taking place, Rhett looked out the window but didn’t see anything really. He was fighting a tear that was forming up in his left eye. After taking a deep breath he was able to swallow down his tears and for the rest of the ride they were left with uncomfortable silence. 

They spent the rest of the morning like that. The tension of unspoken words and unanswered questions between them, making the silent moments awkward and their smiles for the camera fake. 

When Rhett wanted to grab some lunch and asked Link if he’d like to join him, he told Rhett that he wasn’t feeling well and was heading home.  
Link grabbed his jacket with trembling hands and rushed out of the studio. 

That was it! Rhett was no longer going to just stand there and do nothing. He was going to find out what was wrong with Link. 

He took a cab home, said “Hello” to Jessie and the boys and went upstairs to the attic. He opened the large box that said “Rhett’s stuff” on it in Jessie’s handwriting and roamed through it. 

“I know it’s in here” he murmured to himself.

When he finally found what he was looking for he grinned wide. “There you are, buddy!”  
He shoved the little devise in the pocket of his jeans and went downstairs again. 

“Is everything alright, honey?” Jessie asked him. “What were you doing in the attic? And why are you already here? At noontime?” 

Rhett placed a peck on her temple. “Everything’s fine, Jessie. Everyone was a little tired today and since we did not have urgent work to finish we called it a day. And I just looked for that adapter, you know, the one I bought last year, to hook the Go Pro up to…” 

She silenced him with a kiss. “Please don’t get started on your tech stuff.” she smiled at him. “Lunch’s ready.” And with that she went calling the boys for lunch.

Rhett’s thoughts were already far away again trying to figure out what was going on with Link. Was he taking drugs? Or was he drinking? Wouldn’t he smell like alcohol though if he did? 

“Ew, Peas!” Shepard cried out making a typical ‘digust face’. That got Rhett out of his thoughts – at least for now.


	2. What is wrong with you, brother?

On the next morning when Link showed up in his car at Rhett’s house like usual, Rhett sighed in relief. On their way to the studio they acted like nothing had happened. 

When Link turned off the engine and got out of the car, Rhett took the small devise out of his pocket and while he took his time getting out of the car he secretly hid the little GPS tracker under the passenger seat.

That was easier than he had thought though Rhett felt guilty nearly immediately.   
He pushed that feeling aside as he entered the studio behind Link. 

***

“You know what time it is!” Rhett announced while Link gave the ‘Wheel of Mythicality’ its spin.

“Doctor Rhett and Patient Link” Rhett read what was written on the spot the Wheel had landed on.

Rhett took Link’s glasses off his nose and put them on himself to look more like a real doctor. He straitened his back, cleared his throat and looked at Link. 

“How can I help you, Mr Neal?” he asked in a deep voice, trying to sound as professional as possible.

“Uh..” Link was obviously trying to come up with some sort of issue he could have. “I think I may get a cold, doctor. My throat is a little sore.”

“Well, let me see. Open wide for me please.” Rhett instructed Link. With an imaginary light in his left and an imaginary skewer in his right hand he inspected Link’s throat while Link went “Aaaaaaah”, playing along with the game.

When Link’s breath hit Rhett’s nose he tried not to cringe. It was an unusual sour smell like milk that had gone bad but Rhett ignored it and went on with his inspection. Did Link’s teeth always look that bad? 

But Rhett had no time to think about that right now. 

“Your throat is indeed a little red” Dr McLaughlin stated. “Let’s listen to your lungs! Could you please turn around and lift your shirt up a little.” 

Link hesitated. He obviously didn’t like that idea. But when Rhett lifted his eyebrows giving Link a questioning look he quickly did what he was told and turned to the other side, lifting his shirt ever so slightly – just enough for Rhett to get his hands under it.

With his imaginary stethoscope which was actually just his fingers making a small circle he touched six different spots on Links back. Three on the right sight, three on the left side. 

At the two spots in the middle of Link’s back he frowned. He could feel Link’s ribs very well. Link had always been skinny – too skinny actually – but not that skinny, had he? 

What is wrong with you, brother? Rhett asked himself but trying not to show his concern to the crew or the camera. 

They finished the show and GMMore and went on with their daily business. Nothing was out of the ordinary, a little quiet maybe but lately the quietness had become their daily companion. 

In the afternoon Link dropped Rhett at his home and drove away as usual. That was when Rhett opened the App for the GPS tracker on his phone.  
Rhett went inside finding the house empty. He found a little note on the dining table.

“Taking the boys to the park. Christy and the kids come too. We’ll be back for dinner. Love, Jessie”

Perfect, Rhett thought to himself. The less he had to lie to his wife the better.  
He got his car keys and went outside. He checked on Link who was still driving. It nearly looked like he was driving to the opposite side of the city.

Weird, Rhett thought to himself. Well, it was time to find out what was going on finally.


	3. How could he have been so blind!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Graphic depiction of vomiting!

Rhett drove his car in the same direction as Link was going. Finally – after what felt like an eternity to him – the little red dot stopped moving. 

“Gotcha!” Rhett cheered, going a little bit faster now.

A few minutes later Rhett reached the place Link drove his car to: the parking lot of a huge supermarket.

What? He drove all the way on the other side of the town to go grocery shopping? Rhett furrowed his brows and sighed. The place was big. That meant it would be difficult to find Link here. On the other hand could he hide himself better that way.

First of all Rhett searched for Link’s car and thanks to the accuracy of the GPS tracker it was not a hard task. Rhett figured that it was the best thing to hide behind some bushes near Link’s car and simply wait until he came back. 

After nearly half an hour he began to doubt his plan since Link didn’t seem to come back anytime soon. Just as he thought about leaving his hiding spot and searching for Link in the supermarket, he spotted him, carrying multiple bags of food to his car. From his hiding spot Rhett could detect some soda bottles, a box of Frosted Mini-Wheats – of course, Rhett thought with a smile on his lips – and some kind of cookies. 

Someone’s really hungry, Rhett thought to himself. But it made him even more suspicious. The amount of food seemed way too much for Link to consume it all himself. 

When Link finished packing the bags in the trunk of his car and drove off the parking lot, Rhett hurried to get back in his car, following his best friend again.   
After a while Rhett realized that Link was heading to the studio. 

“Okay”, Rhett spoke to himself not having a clue what Link would want to do with all that food in the studio. 

As Rhett watched the red dot on his phone stopping at their studio he parked his own car two streets away and walked the rest of the way.  
After he turned around the corner he frowned seeing the parking lot empty. He checked his phone again. Zooming in on the red dot he realized that Link must have parked his car at the back entrance.

So he did not want to be seen. Rhett got nervous and even more determinate to find out what was going on.

The back door was locked. Of course. He grabbed his key and opened the door as carefully and silent as possible. He smoothly entered the building and tiptoed his way through the hall. 

He heard rustling, like some plastic being torn or like a bag of chips being opened.

Rhett slowly approached the little room he heard the sounds coming from – the little storeroom that inhabited a lot of old props from their main channel sketches. 

The door was ajar.   
After everything Link had done to hide himself away this afternoon, he left the door ajar? Was he in such a hurry that he got careless now?

Rhett peaked into the room holding his breath. He would finally get to know now. His palms were sweaty and his heart raced in his chest.

Link sat in a corner far away from the door. He had cleared out all of the props from that little corner and had placed food all around him. Rhett couldn’t believe his eyes: Beside the Frosted Mini-Wheats, the cookies and the soda Link had also bought himself some milk and chocolate milk, peanut butter, three bags of chips, a whole container of ice cream, chocolate and several other chocolate bars and snacks. 

What in the world…?

As if he was starving Link tore open one bag after the other trying hard to shove as much food into his mouth as humanly possible. He breathed hard through his nose, choking on the food from time to time, using the soda to wash it down. 

Rhett cringed. Seeing Link like that was kind of gross.

Rhett’s mind was racing but he was too overwhelmed to fully comprehend what was going on – until…   
There it sat, right next to Link. A huge bucket. 

Tons of food and a bucket. Rhett’s eyes got wide. The realization hid him hard: Link’s pale face, the shaky hands, especially after a toilet break, the sour breath, the bad teeth, the poking ribs, the busted little veins in his eyes. 

No! No! NOOO! Rhett’s mind screamed. How could he have been so blind!

The sound of Link retching made Rhett snap out of his shock.  
He watched as his best friend emptied his stomach into the bucket. Link was crying now. After he had thrown up for the third time in a few seconds using two of his fingers to induce the gag reflex he drank some of the soda, grabbed some cookies and continued eating.

Rhett couldn’t go on watching him. He leaned against the wall next to the door, both hands raised to his eyes covering half of his face. He was looking down at the floor but wasn’t really seeing anything. He took a deep breath not bothering anymore if Link heard him. His heart hammered against his chest. 

This couldn’t be, this could not just have happened.

In the other room he could hear Link eat and cry, could hear his breath hitching and his soft sobs getting louder. It didn’t take him long and Link was full on crying.   
Rhett felt his own tears drop slowly running down his cheeks into his beard. 

Another violent retch came from the storage room followed by the disgusting sound of Link’s stomach contents splashing into the bucket.  
Rhett could not bear this one more second. He felt like running away. Only that running away was no option here. 

Another retching sound, no splashing this time, just a pitiful whimper – Rhett was on autopilot now. Without thinking about what he was doing he rushed into the room and screamed “Stop it!”

Link immediately crawled as far into the corner as possible, eyes wide in shock, his whole body trembling, tears still streaming down his face. 

“Link” Rhett said. His voice broke when he said “Why?”

Link just stared at him not moving an inch except for his still shaking hands. His breath hitched as he tried to get his crying under control. 

Rhett grabbed one of the grocery bags stuffing as much of the remaining food in as he could. Link watched him in shock. “What… what are you doing?” he asked Rhett, sounding alarmed. 

“I’m going to throw this crap into the garbage.”

“NO!” Link cried out. “No, Rhett, please! Please!” Link tried to grab one of Rhett’s wrists to stop him but Rhett just slapped his hand away.

“Don’t touch me with the same hand you just vomited on!” he shouted. “Look at you! That’s disgusting. What is wrong with you?”

Again Link was completely shocked but only a second later he rushed past Rhett out of the room and before Rhett could even decide what to do he heard the engine of Link’s car. 

His friend was gone. Actually he was long gone.


	4. It feels empty

Rhett sighed. He wiped the remains of his tears away and grabbed all of the food to throw it into the garbage. When the last item finally had fallen into the garbage container with a dull thud it felt extremely satisfying. He went back into the storage room. All evidence left of what had just happened in here was the bucket with Link’s vomit in it. After staring at it for a couple seconds Rhett pulled himself together, picked it up and carried it into the bathroom. He raised the toilet lid and poured everything into the toilet – finally flushing it down without looking at it. After that he went outside the studio to get the water hose. When he felt like the bucket was clean enough he put it back to the cleaning supplies and washed his hands thoroughly. 

Only then – after he had put back everything back into order – he took out his phone and started the App to track Link down. 

Expecting to find Link as far as he could possible get in about the twenty minutes that must have passed, Rhett was surprised as he saw the red dot just turning back onto the studio parking lot. 

Rhett went outside and watched Link getting out of his car. As their eyes locked Link immediately averted Rhett’s gaze looking onto the ground before his feet. He slowly turned around, attempting to climb back into his car. 

“Link” Rhett shouted and started jogging to his best friend.

Link froze. He did not turn back around to face Rhett. 

“Hey, buddy” he heard Rhett’s soft voice just behind him right before he felt his friend’s hand on his shoulder.   
“Look at me” Rhett said in a low voice. “Please.”

Link just shook his head which hang low. When Rhett heard a sob from Link he grabbed his shoulders, turned him around, wrapped his arms around him and held him tight. 

“I’m so sorry, Link” he whispered. And while Link silently sobbed against his chest, still fighting against it, Rhett added: “Let’s go inside.” 

Rhett guided Link inside, into their office to their comfortable couch and lets him sit down.  
“You need anything? Something to drink?” he asked. Link shook his head.

“I’m sorry about what I said to you” Rhett started after a few seconds of silence. “I didn’t mean it. I was just really shocked.”

“No, you’re right” Link told him. “Iam disgusting.”

“No, Link, you’re not. I don’t know a lot about what you’re going through but I know one thing: You’re not disgusting.” Rhett explained to him. And watching the ground under his feet thoroughly he added: “You’re quite the opposite.”

Link tried to hide his blush, so he too started to watch the ground between their feet.

“How long is this been going on?” Rhett finally asked.

“I don’t know. Like this… a couple of weeks maybe.”

“Like this? Does that mean…?”

“Yeah.” Link answered before Rhett could finish his question.

“I’ve been doing this from time to time for years actually. It always happens when I go through a very rough time.” Link’s voice got lower and lower the more he confessed to Rhett.

Rhett swallowed audibly. 

“Even during college?” he asked.  
Link nodded. 

“How did I never notice?” Rhett asked – talking more to himself than to Link.

“I was careful. Don’t blame yourself.” Link told him. And he added: “And it did happen very rarely but lately it got… well, out of hand somehow.”

Rhett looked up at him. “What are we going to do about that?”

Link laughed shortly. “I don’t think that you can do anything about it. I guess Iam the one who needs to face this alone this time.”

“You’re not alone.” Rhett disagreed.

“Yes, Iam.” Link whispered.

“I’m right here.” Rhett stated.

“You don’t understand.”

“Well, then explain it to me!”

Link looked away, fighting his inner demons. “It’s…” he started. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Just try it. I’ll listen.” Rhett said calmly.

“Do you…” Link was searching for the right words, “do you sometimes feel lonely even though you’re actually not alone? Like… everybody you love is around you, happy, no reason for you not to be happy yourself… but it’s just that you’re not. You want to be happy but you’re just really lonely for no reason.”

“Yeah, I guess that happens from time to time.” Rhett confessed.

“And what do you do about it?” Link asked. 

“I usually try not to think about it. I.. well, I know from my own experience that it is no good to think about that too much.”

“What do you mean?” Link asked now. 

“Well, when we were in college or actually even in high school I tented to get that feeling quite often. Every time I gave in to it and actually acknowledged that feeling I felt like a was going crazy… you know, not just a little bit, more like… well, I was on the verge of getting a panic attack.” Rhett explained to him.

“Why did you never tell me? Link asked.

“Well, why didn’t you?” Rhett answered. “What is it that makes you do that? I mean… I just don’t really get it…”

“It feels… it feels empty.” Link’s hand tried to grasp something in the air that wasn’t really there. He obviously thought hard about how to explain the feeling to his best friend.

“It’s like you have a huge hole inside of yourself and you want to fill that hole because it hurts, it hurts like hell. But… no matter how much you eat… it still feels empty, until… well, until you hurt even worse. You feel like you’re about to burst and you want to stop eating but you can’t. And the only way out of that is… well, you know.” Link hung his head low, ashamed of himself.

“And why did it get out of hand?” Rhett asked “Did something happen?” 

“If I’d know that…” Link looked at his best friend. “I really don’t know, Rhett. Everything was fine. Maybe… maybe things were going too well… if the first happiness vanishes and you’re left with just being happy and grateful about what you have… I don’t know, it sounds as if Iam totally spoiled… but that’s the moment when you feel it the most… that there is just something missing.”

“You don’t know what it is but it is important and it knocks out your breath and takes away your strength.” Rhett basically spoke Link’s thoughts.

“How come you know so well?” Link was confused. “You’re not…?”

“No.” Rhett declared. “I have too much of an aversion to throwing up. But I know that feeling… I just always find a way to push it aside or numb it. You know, I just keep my life busy, I never allow it to become quiet, because that’s when…” Rhett fell silent.

“Yeah, that’s when it hits you.” Link nodded.

After a few moments passed in silence, both in their own thoughts, Rhett needed to get another elephant out of the room: “I think you should tell Christy.”

Link’s eyes went wide “No! No way! It will just mess her up. Please, Rhett, I promise, I will do something about it… I… I will go and see someone if that’s what you want, just don’t make me tell her.”

Rhett considered for a moment. “Fine. Let’s call it a deal. I won’t tell anyone if you see a psychologist about this.”


	5. I love you so much

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Graphic depiction of vomiting!  
> And finally: Some fluff!

Link managed to find a psychologist remarkably fast and for the next weeks he looked better and better. Rhett didn’t want to get any false hope but he enjoyed every single moment when Link was just back to his old self – all silly and wonderful. How Rhett had missed him!

After another burst of laughter that day, still giggling Rhett told him: “I’ve missed that.”

“What?”

“You. The fun we’ve always had. I was scared it would have gone forever.”

Link smiled lovingly at him.

“Dude, that’s so cheesy.” Link finally said to hide the fact that he was blushing.

“Well… I like cheese.” came Rhett’s answer.  
And they laughed again.

The day went by without anything out of the ordinary.   
They drove home and Rhett spend the afternoon with his family. That’s why it took him a while to recognize that he had forgotten his phone at the studio. 

He sighed. “Jessie, honey! I forgot my phone at the studio. I need to go and get it.”  
“Sure.” That was all the answer Rhett was about to get since his wife was totally lost in her latest book. He smiled to himself about her ability to totally disappear into another world – pretty similar to the way he could sometimes.

The sun was already low when he arrived at the studio. That may have been the only reason he actually saw dim light coming out of one of the corridors. Rhett thought that somebody must have forgotten to turn off the lights in one of the offices, so he searched for the source of it.

That’s when he heard the familiar retching sound that had haunted him in his nightmares night after night after he had found out about Link’s secret. His feet began running by themselves and he rushed towards the little storage room. He could see the door standing wide open, light coming out of the room, falling into the floor.

When he found Link he was greeted by the sight of his best friend throwing up in his bucket, in front of him an empty pizza carton and several empty burger boxes.  
Link hadn’t noticed him yet.

Unable to say anything Rhett leaned his back at the open door feeling his knees giving in under his weight that suddenly felt extremely heavy. Giving in to his weakness he let his back slide down the door and sat down, his knees bent in front of him.

His eyes welled up without a warning, his lower lip was trembling as he watched Link in total shock who sat in his corner basically in the same position than Rhett, feet in front of him, knees bent. As Link was finished throwing up he folded his arms onto his knees, laid his head onto his arms as if they were a pillow and began to sob softly.

“Link” Rhett said, his voice trembling. “I know you’ve seen me coming in.”

The only answer he got was another sob.

That’s when Rhett brought up his hands to his face and began sobbing himself. 

“I’m… s-s-o—orry” Link pressed out in between his sobs.

Rhett crawled over to his best friend, sat the bucket far aside and pulled Link into a hug. After a few seconds Link finally relaxed and allowed his head to rest on Rhett’s chest.

They sat like that for quite a while, holding each other close until their sobs calmed down a little bit. At some point Rhett absentminded had begun stroking his thumb through Link’s hair right behind his ear which had caused Link to finally close his eyes. He heard Rhett’s heart beating underneath his other ear and slowly but finally calmed down. 

“I love you, man” Rhett said in a gentle voice. He did something he’d never done before because it would just have been to intimate but now it seemed right. He kissed Link’s forehead. 

“I love you too” Link whispered. 

“I don’t think you understand how much I love you, Link” Rhett felt as if his heart was about to burst out of his chest. “It hurts so much seeing you like that, knowing you go through all that pain. I feel like I’m losing you and…” Rhett felt another tear welling up in his eye “and I won’t survive that… you know what I mean… I won’t… I just can’t…”

Link grabbed Rhett’s trembling hand and intertwined his fingers with Rhett’s. “Just promise me something.” he whispered.

“Anything” Rhett promptly said.

“Don’t… don’t judge me or get the wrong idea, and please don’t freak out.”

Rhett was alarmed. “What is it?”

“I miss you.”

“Huh? I’m right here.” 

“I know”, Link tried to explain. “I miss the freedom we had as kids to just do what we felt like. You know how kids don’t think about how it looks to other people if they… well, if they hug someone for example. If they want to cuddle, they’ll just come to you and hug you. They won’t ask, they’ll just do.”

“Yeah” Rhett smiled, “Shepard does that all the time.”

“And so does Lando. But Lilly is actually already too old for that. That’s what happens when you grow up and it is not necessarily a bad thing but… I miss… well, I miss being near to you. You know I don’t want to be near you in a… in a, well, sexual way, but… I wished I could cuddle you from time to time without feeling like that is something I shouldn’t be doing, like it is something wrong.” 

“I wish that too” Rhett whispered.

“You know” Rhett started to confess, “I actually like being spooned by you when we have to share a hotel bed.” 

Link giggled against Rhett’s chest: “Really?”

“Uh-hm.” Rhett nodded.

“Even if you are the little spoon?”

Now it was Rhett’s time to blush. “I actually love being the little spoon” he admitted with an embarrassed grin and red cheeks. 

Link was laughing now. He took a deep freeing breath, smiled audible and squeezed Rhett’s hand that he was still holding. “I love you so much, Rhett.”

“Well, I can’t blame you for that” Rhett laughed. “I mean, seriously, ‘Who wouldn’t?’”   
They both laughed.

After a few seconds of sitting there in silence just enjoying having the other one close to their own hearts, Link spoke again: “Rhett?”

“Hm?”

“I’m going to a special clinic next month.”

“What?” Rhett asked confused.

Link sat up straight, not leaving the arms of his best friend just wanting to be able to look up to his face while he spoke.

“My psychologist offered to think about that option. He told me he could get me a place there next month if I wanted to. I totally freaked out and told him that there was no way I was going to do that but I changed my mind.” Link explained. 

“I’m really happy to hear that” Rhett answered. “What made you change your mind?”

Link swallowed hard. “Seeing my best friend whom I love to pieces sitting on the floor and crying about what I’ve done.”  
There was a moment of silence when neither of them spoke.

“I… I’m a grown up.” Link stuttered, “I have kids and… and I have a responsibility – not only for them but also for myself. There are people that I love: my family, my kids, my wife… you. I cannot go on hurting myself because… because if I do so, I’ll hurt them too.”

“That’s right” Rhett agreed “You have no idea how much it hurts, buddy.”

“I’m sorry” Link added.

“It’s fine.” Rhett told him. “I signed up for that, remember?”

“You mean the blood oath?” Link asked.

“Yeah”, Rhett smiled. “I love that you always get what I’m thinking about.”

Rhett could feel Link get a little uneasy. 

“What is it?” he asked.

“I’m just scared. I have to tell Christy and we have to tell the kids at least some version of the truth, since I will be gone for a while. And I’m scared of going away, being without them and without you.”

“I understand that” Rhett told him “but I don’t worry at all. You’re the strongest person that I know, Link.”

Link laughed “Right after yourself you mean.”

But Rhett stayed absolutely serious: “No,” he shook his head, “far before myself.”

As he sensed Link’s doubt, Rhett continued: “I know the way you feel sometimes. It’s… it’s the worst feeling I’ve ever felt… like fear mixed with depression or something like that. But I’ve just chosen to run away from it. You know, that’s what it feels like you’re supposed to do… because you need to stay strong… only… only that running away from it doesn’t make it go away and the next time you need to run away from it even further and the time after that further than that… until you ran so far away from your own feelings that you’re numb inside. You didn’t run away, Link. You faced your feelings. They overwhelmed you and only then, only at that point, when you had no other choice you began running… or eating. And now, look at you! Look how brave you are, seeing someone about this, taking responsibility, going to a special clinic. You’re way stronger than you think.”

“Well” Link smiled “I’ve never seen it that way.”

“That’s why you have me” Rhett said “To see things from another perspective.”

“Yeah, I think so” Link said feeling his eyelids getting heavy. He was tired after everything he went through that day.

“Come on, sleeping beauty” Rhett joked about him. “Let’s get you to the couch. I’d really like to be the little spoon right now.” 

Link grinned wide and for the next hour, cuddled up on the couch to his best friend while sleep slowly crept in, it seemed like finally he was whole again.


End file.
